Calgarian just the type of guy luxury carmaker is targetting with its performance sport sedan

By Greg Williams

Originally published: February 19, 2014

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CALGARY — Aly Sayani is 34 years old, has a good job, and likes cars. Because he’s young, and relatively affluent, he’s exactly the type of fellow Cadillac would like to see driving its newest car – the ATS.

And he did. For one week, Sayani spent time in the driver’s seat of Cadillac’s compact luxury sports sedan, the 2014 ATS Luxury AWD.

The ATS is the luxury nameplate’s smallest vehicle, and was introduced in 2012 as a 2013 model and is meant to compete against vehicles such as BMW’s 3 Series and Audi’s A4.

It’s not breaking news that Cadillac no longer produces block-long luxury liners, but the brand didn’t have an entry for the competitive compact luxury segment. Cadillac’s CTS is the bigger brother in the model range, and it’s considered a mid-sized vehicle.

To develop the ATS, Cadillac designers started with a fresh sheet of paper. They engineered an all-new, lightweight platform intended to support either rear wheel drive or all-wheel drive running gear. GM points out that the ATS is all about driving dynamics, and says the car has one of the lowest curb weights (1,504 kg) in the compact luxury sports segment.

The ATS’s interior.Colleen De Neve, Driving

They further boast the ATS has an ideal 50/50 weight balance, and thanks to a multi-link MacPherson strut front suspension with a double-pivot design the car delivers a greater feeling of control. Rear suspension is the first five-link independent shock absorption system to be found in a Cadillac – and should help keep the tires firmly gripping the road surface.

Cadillac equips the ATS with either a standard 2.5 litre four-cylinder, optional 2.0L four with turbocharger, or the 3.6L V6. Sayani’s ATS had the V6 lurking under the hood, and the engine was mated to a six-speed automatic with manual shifting controls.

A tax services advisor for the City of Calgary, Sayani’s first car was a 1989 Volkswagen Jetta. He prefers standard-shift vehicles, and has since owned a 1991 BMW 318i, a 1997 318is coupe and a 2003 Cadillac CTS. Currently, he’s piloting a 2007 Infiniti G35S.

2014 Cadillac ATSColleen De Neve, Driving

“For the most part, I prefer four door cars,” Sayani says. Although he likes sedans, he’s not prepared to give up a sporty ride.

“I like performance and handling, with a little bit of luxury attached to that,” he says. “For me, it’s all about the driving experience, and I’m not really all that interested in the technical gadgets.”

Sayani commutes four or five days a week from his southwest home to downtown for work, and at least once a year takes a long driving vacation. He figures he adds some 15,000 kilometres per annum to his vehicle’s odometer.

Upon learning he’d be driving the ATS, Sayani says: “I was quite interested in looking at Cadillac’s newest car, and was indeed curious.”

When he arrived to pick up the car, he was immediately smitten by its looks.

“My first impression was the ATS was a great looking car. It had a big, strong and bold grille, and had a decent set of rims. It followed similar lines to the bigger Cadillacs, but in a smaller package.”

Our driver was a fan of the 2014 Cadillac ATS’s bold grille.Colleen De Neve, Driving

Sayani wouldn’t choose white for a personal car. However, Cadillac’s white diamond tricoat – an extra cost paint at $1,295 — found favour, and he says it suited the ATS.

At 5’7” Sayani is not the size of a football player, and he doesn’t have difficulty fitting into most vehicles. The ATS posed no problem, and he was soon comfortable in the eight-way power adjustable leather seat.

“I was surprised the car didn’t have a power tilt and telescoping steering wheel, but overall fit and finish was fantastic,” Sayani says. “They’ve done a good job, and I think it’s up to the standards of most Japanese and German brands.

“All of the materials have a nice, soft touch – nothing hard and plastic about the Cadillac’s interior.”

He was also impressed by the crystal-clear graphics on the computer display – but he never did get totally comfortable with all of the technology packed into the ATS.

2014 Cadillac ATSColleen De Neve, Driving

On a trip to Banff, Sayani says the V6 engine provided plenty of torque, and he enjoyed using the transmission in its manual mode so he could hold the gears longer.

“In the automatic sport mode, I found the transmission went quickly into overdrive, and that took some of the responsiveness out of the drive,” he says.

Handling, with its electric power steering, was described as “numb,” and Sayani says the feel at the steering wheel was the same in a parking lot as it was on the highway. Suspension was rated as firm, but not unpleasant.

Sayani says brake pedal feel was also firm, and the four-wheel discs with ABS were easy to modulate.

The trunk was inspected, and Sayani says it seemed a bit small. Cabin storage, such as the glove box and centre console bin, were given a good grade.

2014 Cadillac ATSColleen De Neve, Driving

While Cadillac markets the ATS as a five-passenger car, Sayani would beg to differ. He thought the rear seating arrangement was tight, and is unsure even how long two adult passengers could ride back there.

“I think the ATS would best suit a younger executive-type person, someone in the their 30s or their 40s who has the patience to work with the computer system,” Sayani says. “But I found even the basic settings to be finicky.”

Having said all of that, though, Sayani was still impressed with the ATS.

“I definitely enjoyed driving this vehicle and would recommend a test drive to anyone looking for a luxury sports sedan,” he says. “In that segment, I would say it competes very well with the others in its class.”

2014 Cadillac ATSColleen De Neve, Driving

ALY SAYANI’S DRIVING JOURNAL

Day One: Took a few minutes to get going. Definitely the most “teched” out car I’ve ever driven. Couldn’t even get to my preferred radio station, left it on a random channel and drove into work. Brakes feel firm. Ample power. Driving back home, noticed exhaust is pretty throaty. Shift into “manual” mode to hold revs and for downshifting.

Day Two: Regular commute to work. Noticed even in Auto – Sport mode that the car shifts into overdrive very quickly — always usually between 1,500 – 2,000 rpm. Enjoyable drive overall. Took the family out to dinner in the evening. Senior dad said car is quite low to get in and out. Mother in the back mentioned rear quarters overall are quite tight. Parents mentioned a “choppy” ride — not used to sporty stiff ride. Loved the heated steering wheel. Sudden seat vibrations (part of the Driver Awareness Package) are annoying — will try to find a way to override this function. Some FM radio stations are fuzzy.

Day Three: Annoying seat vibrations again on the way to work — this feature in its default setting is useless in rush hour driving. In the evening, spent a few minutes trying to figure out satellite radio stations — really enjoying Sirius XM. Volume controls are finicky and slow to react — same with HVAC climate controls. This car has a feature where high beams are activated automatically. Pretty neat feature, but questions its use in the city, probably better suited for highway use.

Day Four: The regular commute to work again — enjoyed satellite radio and shifted some gears manually — very enjoyable. Left it in sport and realized should have tried out the winter mode with the small skiff of snow we had — however no issues. During lunch hour today, went to Franklin area from downtown with two colleagues from work. They liked the car overall and enjoyed the car’s power and sporty handling. In the evening met up with a car enthusiast buddy – who also really liked the car.

Day Five: Off to run errands. Filled up with gas — about 1/5th of tank left — I estimated about a 50L fill for about a 70L or so tank and I was right on the money — I used 49.6L which cost $57 at $1.119 for mid-grade.

Day Six: Showed my neighbour the car — apparently, it is his current “dream car.” He absolutely loved it, outside colour and interior as well. I really like the way the car’s windshield spray mist worked, entire windshield is cleared fast.

Day Seven: Picked up cousin to go to Banff for dinner. I was very curious as to how this car would handle on the highway. Activated lane departure warning system and cousin configured navigation system. Nav system works well, relatively easy directions. Hard to maintain speed limit on highway, activated the cruise control most of the way, which unfortunately did take a few attempts to figure out. Lane departure warning definitely works very well for highway use.